


Mr December

by la_muerta



Series: Shadowhunter Bingo entries [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Firefighters, Firefighter Magnus Bane, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Photographer Alec Lightwood, Shadowhunter Bingo 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:30:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23330185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/la_muerta/pseuds/la_muerta
Summary: Alec is a famous architectural photographer who has agreed to help do a photoshoot for the Brooklyn Fire Department for a charity calendar. One of the firefighters should really have come with a goddamned warning.For the Shadowhunter Bingo Square:Firefighter AU
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Shadowhunter Bingo entries [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1570297
Comments: 62
Kudos: 465
Collections: Favorite Malec Stories, SHBingo





	Mr December

"I take photos of buildings, Iz. Are you sure they're ok with me doing this photoshoot?" Alec asked as he got out of the car. 

"You don't just 'take photos of buildings', big brother, you've been the top photographer at World Architecture Festival for five years running," Izzy said with a laugh. "Besides, it's to raise funds for charity. The less they have to spend on things like hiring a photographer, the more money there'll be for the children's hospital."

Alec sighed and nodded. That was why he'd agreed to help do the photoshoot in the first place even though he wasn't sure he was the right guy for the job. It was a small, fun project initiated by the firefighters and Izzy had assured him that they weren't expecting some fancy fashion shoot. The fact that they had obtained permission from the New York City Council to use one of Alec's favourite buildings in New York as the backdrop was just an additional perk.

The Old Brooklyn Fire Headquarters was a striking landmark in downtown Brooklyn and Alec had always loved how incongruous it was amongst the modern glass-and-steel skyscrapers all around it. It had been built in the 1890s, a narrow building made of orange brick and red sandstone with fancy flowery copper and terracotta trimmings in classic Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style, and had a crazy seven-storey watchtower and actual fucking turrets, which made it look more like an odd little castle in the middle of the city. 

It had been put on the registrar of protected buildings for its historical significance but the Brooklyn Fire Department didn't use the building anymore. They'd moved to a blocky new building that had all the new-fangled design elements like a roof-top garden and colour-coded exits, done in the currently popular "void" style which emphasised light and space - which was all very cool and helped them work more efficiently, but didn't have the quirky charm of the old building. They were met at the entrance by the fire chief Luke Garroway, who was going to be their "Mr January", and as he walked them in, Alec found himself already scouting the place for spots that would make dramatic backdrops for the twelve portraits he was doing, such as the elaborately carved entrance archway and the old-fashioned wrought-iron birdcage elevator. 

They couldn't have all the firefighters off duty at the same time, so Luke had arranged for the chosen firefighters to come over in groups of four, and Alec had never been more thankful for Izzy's help. The firefighters who had volunteered for the shoot were a mix of men and women and all really fit of course, but they'd still been pretty shy about doing sexy and sometimes provocative poses, often without a shirt or in a wet shirt. Izzy had come along to lend her makeup skills for the photoshoot, but she just had a knack for putting them at ease and making them laugh so Alec could concentrate on doing his job. And when it came down to it, it really wasn't that different from taking photos of buildings - finding the point where light and shadow met to turn the contours and lines of the human body into striking images.

Before he knew it, they were down to their last four firefighters - a pretty girl named Maia for September, a cheerful nerdy guy named Simon for October, and a surly, quiet guy named Raphael for November. Alec had a feeling things were going to get dicey in here pretty quickly, because all three of them were looking at Izzy in a way that made his big brother protective instincts go on overdrive. 

"Where's Magnus?" Luke asked when they were almost done with Raphael. 

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," someone replied cheerfully, and Alec nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw the guy who had just appeared from behind the fire truck they'd brought in as a prop. 

It wasn't just the way his tank top clung to his body, or the incredible definition of his arms, or his waist-to-shoulder ratio. He wasn't what Alec expected from a firefighter, what with the black eyeliner and black nail polish, but it was his smile and the mischievous twinkle in his eyes that knocked the breath out of Alec. He winked at Alec as he walked past and saluted smartly at Luke. 

"This is my Deputy Fire Chief, Magnus," Luke said. "Magnus, this is our photographer, Alec."

"Well, I'd like to think I'm an expert in handling hot stuff, so we're going to get along just fine," Magnus said, grinning. Alec couldn't help smiling at the compliment even though he knew his face was getting a bit red.

"Stop teasing the photographer, or he might take ugly photos of you," Raphael said. 

"It's impossible to take ugly photos of me," Magnus said airily. "Besides, is it really called teasing if I don't mind following through?" 

Alec cleared his throat. "Um, that's you done, Raphael. Thank you."

"Great. So how do you want me, Mr Photographer?" Magnus asked cheekily. "I'm open to anything."

Alec looked at Izzy for help, but his sister was too busy flirting with Maia. "Maybe some interaction with the fire truck?"

They ended up unrolling some of the hose and turning the water on just a little. Alec had meant for Magnus to hold the hose as if he was preparing to spray it at the camera, but the shot had turned out a little weak without the water on at full blast. 

"How about if I hold it to my face instead, like I'm going to drink from it?" Magnus suggested. 

"Uh yeah, that could work."

"Shirt on or shirt off? I'll leave it to your professional expertise." 

Magnus was wearing a black tank top, which wouldn't show much even if it got wet, so logically the shot would be sexier with his shirt off. But Alec wasn't feeling very professional when he replied, "Shirt off."

Magnus took off his top without a fuss, but Alec couldn't look away even though he felt a bit skeevy gawking. Magnus was wearing his turnout pants slung very low on his hips, the suspenders dangling from his waistband not helping matters by pulling the hem down even more, so that the sharp 'V' of his pelvic muscles were very visible and led the eye downwards. Alec swallowed hard and tried to focus on his job - which at the moment was taking photos of Magnus with his mouth open wide to catch the water flowing from the hose, water flowing in rivulets down his chin and chest and following the line of his six-pack abs straight down. Alec took probably more photos than was strictly necessary, but he had always been efficient at his job and was done in a few minutes.

"I'm done, thank you," he called out, feeling both relieved and disappointed that the photo shoot was over.

Simon had gone to grab a towel for Magnus, and while Izzy thanked Luke and the firefighters and made the necessary arrangements for the photos to be sent to them. Alec checked the shots he'd just taken, zooming in just to make sure that everything was in focus, and groaned when it suddenly occurred to him that he would be spending the night looking at these photos in great detail while he touched them up for print.

"Something wrong?"

Alec looked up in surprise to find Magnus standing next to him, already dressed and with a towel slung around his broad shoulders although his pants were still a little damp. "Oh, no, not at all."

"I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable with my teasing," Magnus said.

"No, you didn't," Alec assured him, then braced himself and added, "Y'know, it's really easy to tell that you're a firefighter - because you're smokin' hot."

Magnus' eyes widened in surprise, then he let out a delighted burst of laughter. "Well, aren't you full of surprises," he finally said.

Alec ducked his head, grinning. "Um, so... what time do you get off work? Would you like to maybe get a drink?"

"We work odd hours. I'm on a 24-hour shift until nine tomorrow morning, but I have two days off after this," Magnus said.

"I don't mind odd hours."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow night - it's a date," Magnus said with a wide smile that Alec returned easily.

"It's a date."


End file.
